


Island

by ChloShow



Category: The Young Pope (TV)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 16:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10517829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloShow/pseuds/ChloShow
Summary: Lenny shares an April afternoon with Andrew at the orphanage.





	

I think of the basketball court at the orphanage. A simple one on one game plays out the tarmac. The two of us walk down the hill, knees muddy and red from play. We talk about something inconsequential. Our breakfast, the weather, my bunkmate’s snoring affliction. Sometimes I think of pinching one of the wooden clothing pins over his nostrils. Andrew laughs.

He’s beautiful. Sunburned. Sister Mary lectures him to put on sunscreen before going outside, especially in summer, but without fail, he enters the dining hall the tips of his nose and ears aflame. I tan a golden brown that complements my blond hair. Today the sun raises the temperature a few degrees more than normal, giving us a slight taste of May, of mosquito bites, of a blue sky that stares back at you silently, accusingly as you send up a silent prayer by the pond.

I’m brought back to that day in Colorado. Andrew and I dip our bare feet into the pond and venture out until the water touches the edges of our shorts. I pick up a smooth stone and skip it across into the far trees. Teach me, he says. I find another stone and press it into his sweaty palm, situating the rock between his pointer finger and thumb. He throws it like a Frisbee, and the pale stone hits the water with a wet _thunk_.

I pray that our love, for lack of a better word, weathers the hardships of boyhood. With that thought, a lone cloud departs, leaving a reinvigorated sun warming my cheeks. In my young mind, I take that as an affirmation from God.

We walk down the hill, slowly at first, and as a I quicken my pace, he turns it into a game, racing me to the bottom. My longer legs give me an advantage, and he tugs at my sleeve to slow me down to no avail. When I reach the court, I rest my hands on my knees and wait for him. We’re laughing for no reason other than that we’re alive. He shoves me in mock reproach, and I grab his shoulder because I want to touch him. I want to be nearer to him than I’ve been to anyone. Our heads dip together like brothers conspiring, and with minimal effort, I press my lips chastely against his mouth in innocent joy.

Withdrawing from his space, I see his confused eyes. Did he not understand what I meant? The other boys on the court have stopped. A question hangs in the air.

“Did you just kiss him?”

“No,” Andrew answers, “I was about to fight him for cheating. He started running before I said start, and yeah.”

The boys think on this and rewind their memories, now seeing me and Andrew butting heads about a race. This satisfies them, and they’re back to the game.

I frown, expressing all that I need to in my disappointed face.

“I’m saving your ass, Lenny. Don’t do that again.”

My connection to him has severed, and I’m an island once more.


End file.
